The Harvested
by DaemonS1gn
Summary: In the midst of the Clone Wars, a sinister operation occurs in the shadows. Clones are disappearing, but no one knows where to. A mysterious distress signal from an unknown region may hold the answers to this movement. Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka are dispatched to the location where they discover an unsettling nightmare. (Takes the place of The Citadel arc in seasons 3)
1. Prologue

…...

Prologue

Unknown Region of the Galaxy

2300 hours

Every damned corridor looked the same. Paneled sheets of durasteel lined the walls in a cold metallic mockery. The sirens had gone off a long time ago. Precisely the moment the prisoner had rid himself of the dark cell. It was a long whining and eerie sound. The attempts to seal him up in the detainment hall had been successful. However, they never ever thought to look in the air ducts until later. And that was precisely where the prisoner had gone.

CT-9942 crawled through the air ducts of the prison. It was his only hope of merely escaping the detainment sector. Fortunately for him, his captors had not removed his body glove or his armor. They had left it on him since it did not hinder any of their 'experiments'. He was glad he still had his armor. It offered small means of protection. The clone gave a small shudder and stopped moving as a figure passed below. His breath halted and he crouched into a small unmoving form in the duct. It was one of the doctors that was walking below. He knew the doctors were not ones for fighting, but yet he held his position. He had worked far too hard to get to this point. He refused to allow it to go to waste by attacking the doctor, who would merely press a button on his wrist, and he would be swarmed. The doctor was dressed in a dirty beige apron. On all of their heads, they wore a plain black helmet that allowed no one to look in. The fact that their faces could never be seen was the most unnerving piece.

CT-9942 realized he was trembling slightly as he regained his senses. Slowly, the doctor below moved off into another section of the wing. The clone sighed softly in relief and rose back on all fours to continue crawling.

The air ducts were quiet and cold. It indicated one positive thing for his situation. It meant they didn't know he was up there. If they did, he surmised heads would poking in and out of the grates looking for him, or they'd heat it up to the point where he would be forced to jump out and reveal himself, or even worse…they'd close the ducts and gas it, rendering him unconscious.

Eventually, CT-9942 was led to a dead end in the duct. _Haar'chak. _He swore in Mando'a. A slitted grate lay beneath his body. The clone leaned forward to peer down into it. It led into a storage unit. He spied many materials necessary for cleaning. _It'll have to do. _He thought as he quietly began to pry off the covering. It was removed soundlessly much to his pleasure. Slipping his legs down into the hole, he dropped down with a muted thud. The door was to his left. The clone rose up and slowly clicked the pad next to the door. It opened with a small whoosh sound. _Still no droids…or doctors. _Yes. Droids. He knew there were droids here. Many times he saw different droids patrolling the area around the prison.

The dark corridors around him were quiet and empty. _I just need to find a transmitter of some sort. I'll send a distress signal to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. They're bound to get that! _CT-9942 crept down the hall. There were several doors on either side. At this point, he had no idea what awaited him. The clone took a hard breath and poked at one of the keypads beside a door. The door obeyed and swished open with the same whooshing sound. Behind door number one was…a small room with a huge wall of innumerable colored cords and dials. _No…definitely not. _The clone thought, and moved on. He made his way to the next door on the other side. The clone paused and listened. Still, no sound reached him. Just then a shiver ran down his spine. The sirens had turned off. He didn't notice it before; or perhaps he had just gotten far enough away. Ignoring it for now, he pressed the second keypad. Behind this door were many glass cabinets, all of them containing drugs or needles of the sort. Moving immediately to the third door, CT-9942 nearly shrieked in fright when he heard shouts and a horrid snapping sound from the down the corridor. A light from far away turned on. Then all the lights in the corridor turned on as the angry voices grew closer. The clone stabbed the keypad and looked in, now desperate to find what he needed most. In the third room however, was only another drug storage. _Damn, damn, damn! _He panicked. Rushing to the fourth, the pounded the pad as heavy footsteps drew close. In the fourth room was a single metal table in the center with a long counter and overhead light. A surgery room. Dashing to the next, his head whipped about, terrified for the moment he would see the droids, or doctors…or a director come careening around the corner. The fifth door opened and revealed to him…_Finally! A transmitter! _

He flew into the room, closed the door behind him and began to power up the large holo transmission table. _Work! Work! Please! _From this room, he heard something with claws bounding down the hall. The table powered up lazily, as if completely ignorant of his situation. CT-9942 began rapidly pressing buttons, trying to send out a distress signal to the Jedi Temple's coordinates. He felt his legs shaking in fear of being caught. If he was, this would be the third time. After the third time, the chances ran out. CT-9942 bit down on his tongue as his finger jabbed the send button just as the pad for the door was pressed. The door whooshed right open, revealing the escaped clone. The clone screamed as he saw a giant four-legged beast with sabers for teeth pounce him. The hound knocked him onto the ground and savagely began to tear at his throat, easily shredding it with a shower of blood. The screams died abruptly as the beast tore the prisoner apart, scattering a left arm to the side. Even so, the clone got part of his wish. He escaped this living Hell. And the other, the Jedi would soon know of this sadistic operation. …..


	2. Ryloth's Struggle

_Ryloth_

_One Week Prior to the Distress Signal_

_1100 hours_

The rocky canyons of Ryloth's deserts echoed with blaster fire, crashing machines, and the occasional cannon. The perpetual sun on this side of the planet was scorching this day. Thirty hours ago it was a pleasant warmth, but now the occupants of this skirmish, save the droids, sweated in their battle armor doubled by the strenuous sprints to each stop.

By the troopers side were the Jedi, as well as a Twi'lek resistance that had tried numerous times to push the droids and Wat Tambor off their planet. Despite their numerous attempts, they did little damage to the outskirts of the droid base and had lost a few resistors in the onslaught. They requested Republic assistance which was immediately granted much to their relief. Wat Tambor had barricaded himself well into an elaborate canyon to lessen their chances of success. He was safe here, or so he believed, until the Jedi arrived.

Anakin Skywalker nimbly leapt from rock to rock along the side of the canyon and jumped onto the top of an OG-9 Spider droid. Swishing his lightsaber about, he severed the giant metallic legs until one remained before soaring back through the air to a safe position as he watched the giant metal sphere topple down to the desert ground with a resounding crash. He smirked to himself as his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, touched down beside him, only one of her lightsabers out at the moment.

"That's one way to take care of a spider droid." He said to her. She smiled broadly then pointed to the farther route of the canyon.

"Master Kenobi and Commander Cody have three AT-TEs approaching from the south to take down the wall." She shouted over the whoosh of a Republic gunship overhead.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to bring down the front wall." He shouted back as a second gunship sailed overhead. Ahsoka nodded then leapt back down into the crossfire, flipping acrobatically as she did through the air. With both her lightsabers drawn, she covered a small squad of troops, allowing them to proceed to the next available barrier. Anakin soon joined her, deflecting the droid's crimson blaster fire.

"This looks like the last battalion for now! We should press forward!" He shouted to her again.

"Let's do it!" Ahsoka shouted back, fiercely deflecting a shot that came dangerously close to her head. The two Jedi simultaneously charged forward and sailed into the air, coming down to each slash a super battle droid, probably the most obnoxious of standard infantry. Their armor was tougher and their firepower was more destructive. Ahsoka felt the force surge through her for a moment as she took out the surrounding battle droids with a repulse, sending the clankers broken to the ground. Anakin saw the move as he finished slashing a super battle droid in half.

"Nice one Snips!" He complimented. She heard, but focused on the battle for now. They had pressed through two outer barriers already, and the Jedi could not afford to lose out now. The clones opened fire on droids that were closing in on the Jedi generals. In that company, was Captain Rex, who was keeping a close eye to the front as well as the back. Luckily he was, for he soon caught sight of a battle droid, then two, then six, then a battalion approaching them from the rear.

"We got clankers from the rear!" He shouted to his troops. They instantly whipped around and began to fire on them as they moved behind the rocks for better cover. Five droids went down in a second just as one of their own was fatally shot in the chest. Rex never failed to have that feeling of anger as one of his brothers was killed by the droids. He was just a rookie too. Rex whipped his head back to the Jedi, who were still plenty busy with the tinnies at the front. He lifted his comlink up to his helmet to contact Ahsoka, seeing as she was less busy than Anakin.

"Ahsoka! We have clankers approaching from the rear. We could really use a hand back here." He informed. Almost instantly she responded,

"I'm on my way!"

Anakin nodded as she took off to help Rex and the others. They had pressed on a little further than intended and had lost visual on their troops. A sloppy and rather dangerous mistake. But he knew Ahsoka could rush back and handle it. Skywalker dodged a laser fire as it seared by his shoulder. Anger pinched him, and he threw his arms out with an immense force push that sent all droids in his path flying. The thin B1 droids were slammed against the sides of the canyon, snapping apart instantly whereas the heavier battle droids crunched against the ground and their power fizzled out. It was quiet around him, save the low hum of his lightsaber.

"Blasted seppies." He growled, turning off his saber. They had breached the last wall on this side. All that was left was for General Kenobi to take down the main wall and infiltrate the base. They were still expecting Master Windu to arrive with extra forces to help speed along the take down of the Separatist base. Anakin suddenly remembered his padawan. He turned back and rushed off to find Ahsoka and his troops. As he ran, his comlink went off. His heart leapt as his first thought went to Ahsoka and the possibility of something gone awry. He was wrong, fortunately, as Obi-Wan's voice rang out.

"Anakin, Master Windu has brought reinforcements to push through the base. Rendezvous back at the drop off and we'll launch one last attack."

"Yes master, I'm headed there now." Of course, that was not entirely true. He was headed back to Ahsoka, then he would heed his master's order.

Anakin finally rounded the last corner of the canyon before he spied his troops and Ahsoka. Like he predicted, she had devastated the clankers. She was walking back to the troops. One of them was on the ground, but still moving. He saw that three had died. Their bodies were in a small trail from where they had to back away from. He ran faster until he reached the small group. A rookie, Chett, had a blaster wound through his calf. Rex and another clone were bent down beside him as the rest stood.

"We'll get you back to the base and our medic Kix will fix you up right." He reassured. Chett nodded as Rex and that clone hoisted him off the ground and supported him.

"How do you feel?" Another clone asked.

"It hurts, but I don't think it went all the way through." Chett answered in a strained voice. Evidently it still hurt a great deal, for the clone's body was tense and his fingers were curled in pain. Anakin looked to Ahsoka, but spoke to the rest of the troops too.

"Obi-Wan wants us to rendezvous back to the drop off. Master Windu is sending reinforcements to push through that blockade so we can capture Wat Tambor."

"What if Tambor escapes before that?" She inquired.

"We may need a diversion at the main wall, and someone else to sneak in through the rear and cut the droid's power. It'd make it easier to defeat them and possibly capture him."

"Are you suggesting yourself?" Ahsoka smiled. Anakin smiled too.

"Yep. And you're coming with me."

"We'll catch him master." She said confidently as they began to return to the drop off.

"Do you think Master Kenobi will approve your plan?" She asked him as they walked in front.

"Who says I need his approval?" He chuckled. Ahsoka smiled, but gave him a stern look. "What's that for?"

"Nothing. I just hope Tambor doesn't pull a cowardly move and abandon his base. It makes it more difficult when they just up and run before the battle's over." She said, the smile now gone. It took away Anakin's as well.

"The seppies are known for cowardice. That's why they send mindless droids to do their bidding." A clone rookie said from behind.

"I've never seen a Separatist leader out there in the fight. They're always on the sidelines." Anakin agreed. He wished this time it wasn't true. Capturing Wat Tambor would put a damper on the droid production of the Separatists, and they'd be one step closer to winning this seemingly eternal war.


	3. Clone and Jedi

Commander Cody stood at the ridge of the next canyon to the left, many miles from the droid base. He scanned the wide horizon for any ship activity with his range finder. Everything there seemed quiet, but he was mostly keeping an eye to sky.

"Commander Cody, make sure no ships leave that base. If one does, I can guarantee its Wat Tambor fleeing the planet." Obi-Wan said, glancing back to his clone commander.

"Yes, sir!" Cody complied with the order obediently, as all clones did. Obi-Wan was studying a holo map with a three dimensional perspective of the canyons they were currently located in. Several walls around the base had been taken out, and countless battle droids had been destroyed. All that was left was to break down the main wall and destroy what was left of the Separatists. There was a opening to the rear of the base, but fitting a mass army back there would prove difficult and irrational. Obi-Wan lifted his comlink to his mouth to contact Skywalker.

"Anakin, the drop ship is nearly here. Where are you?" He asked. The line was filled with static for a moment. For split second, Obi-Wan worried that the Separatists had jammed their signals.

"Well I can see you from here if that gives you a clue." Anakin's voice responded. Master Kenobi looked around him. Instantly, he spotted the small group making their way toward him. Ahsoka way in front, and a trooper being held up by two others. When they got close enough, General Kenobi whispered,

"What happened to your squad?"

"We had a bit of an ambush." He said. "Droids came from behind when the clones were still too vulnerable. I think we would've lost more if Ahsoka didn't make it back there in time." He watched his Padawan go with the injured trooper as Kix appeared to care for the leg wound.

"Do you think Wat Tambor is still there?" Anakin asked, his eyes watching the base from afar. Cody was still eyeing it through the high powered range finder.

"No ships have left the area. But now I fear he may have used a ground transport to escape to a different location." The two Jedi turned as Chett seethed in pain as Kix rubbed a disinfectant in the wound. The pieces of armor belonging to his leg had been removed and the body glove rolled up. The Jedi turned back to one another.

"I guess we'll have to see when we get there." Anakin muttered. The sweltering sun had put many troopers down for a while. They sat in the shade with one another, tanking down as much water as they needed. Sweat was anywhere from dampening the clones' hair to soaking it. Favorably, the casualties had been light for the first few assaults.

Just then, Anakin decided to bring up his idea from earlier, of him and Ahsoka infiltrating from the back and creating chaos as most of the fight was drawn forward.

"Master Kenobi, I have an idea." He began.

"Oh, great. Let's hear it. Unless it involves more reckless explosions." He joked lightly. Anakin frowned and took him back to the holomap.

"If we have a big enough diversion at the main wall, and all of the Separatist forces are drawn there, Ahsoka and I can sneak in from the back, destroy the base from the inside and capture Tambor before he escapes." Anakin finished and looked to his master. Obi-Wan seemed to be considering this for a moment. His fingers stroked his beard in the habitual manner.

"They might expect it. I can only assume you'll run into traps that will compromise your position." He suggested, almost trying to dissuade Anakin from this.

"Ahsoka and I can handle it. Any traps they have we can overcome." Anakin retaliated, but kept his tone soft. If his tone grew harsh, Kenobi would definetly refuse. Obi-Wan gave a heavy sigh.

"Anakin-" He was cut short when a rumble from the skies distracted them. Gliding down through the cloudless sky were numerous gunships that had come from a Republic star destroyer; the _Resolute _ The reinforcements had arrived.

"We'll see what Master Windu has to say about the situation." Kenobi said as he walked away. Anakin sighed this time and gritted his teeth. He didn't want to give Wat Tambor the window of escape. He knew the moment he could, the slimy Separatist would flee the planet.

The gunships touched down briefly enough for all the clones to evacuate it before it took off again. After the twentieth gunship or so, they saw Windu himself jump onto the rocky ground of Ryloth and approach them. Next to him, was a clone commander painted in dark greens along his legs, arms, chest and helmet. He wore the traditional kama and had a visor similar to Cody's.

"I see he finally got himself a new clone commander." Anakin whispered to Kenobi. He heard, but ignored his friend for now. Windu and the clone advanced toward them as the rest began to form ranks. Rex and Kix helped the injured Chett up as they tested how well he could walk before sending him to either the ranks, or back onto the _Resolute_. Ahsoka stayed close to encourage him.

"Masters Kenobi and Skywalker, what barriers have you broken?" Windu immediately inquired once he was in speaking range, rather eager to rid the poor planet and its people of the Separatist presence.

"All walls are broken, but the main wall is the most guarded. We haven't proceeded that far yet." Obi-Wan answered.

"Good, we can push right through them and eliminate their base." Windu responded. Anakin bit the side of his cheek and pondered asking Windu about him and Ahsoka going behind enemy lines.

"And capture Wat Tambor before he escapes." Obi-Wan added. Windu's eyebrows scrunched up.

"Actually I've dealt with Tambor in the past. He isn't like General Grievous. He'll stick around the battlefield a little longer if he needs to. I just hope it makes it easier to capture him."

"Oh, then that simplifies it." Obi-Wan said, sounding a little more enlightened to the situation.

"And by the way," Windu continued, "this is-"

"I am CC-3302 at your service commanders." The clone painted in green spoke up in a rather lively tone. Anakin bit down a smile and Kenobi looked a little taken aback by the clone's audacity.

"CC-3302 has been dispatched to Padawan Ahsoka Tano for the mean time to see if she's ready." Windu said once it was safe to speak again. Anakin's smile vanished.

"Wait, how come Ahsoka's getting a clone commander?" He couldn't help but ask.

"The Jedi council would like to see how well she can operate with her own. CC-3302 was available and their personalities have many common traits. His squad will remain on Kamino until she's ready to take command of them." Windu explained. The clone was statue still beside the Jedi as he waited for a command. Anakin went quiet. Obi-Wan spoke up to break the tension.

"I think it's a good experiment for her. But now I think we should refocus on the battle at hand." His tone held the slightest tinge of impatience. He was also very eager to get off the stifling hot planet, or perhaps it was just this day that was hot.

"Erm, which one is Commander Tano?" CC-3302 spoke again. Windu subtly gestured to the only female on the battlefield.

"Commander Tano is the female Togruta you see there. Why don't you go introduce yourself?"

"Yes sir!" He obliged and went over to her. Behind his hand, Windu whispered,

"The rest of us call him Commander Motormouth. You'll find out soon enough why." Anakin smiled at his. Perhaps giving Ahsoka more responsibility would prove beneficial. Maybe having the clone commander to manage would keep her a little more grounded.

"Master Windu, I had a suggestion for infiltrating the base." He suddenly blurted as Windu was turning around with Obi-Wan. Anakin figured it couldn't hurt him merely putting his idea out in the open.

"Let's hear it." He said, stopping in mid-turn.

"There's a narrow canyon south of the Separatists base," he directed him to the holo map which was still active and ready to be viewed, "if Ahsoka and I could sneak back there we can gain access to the base and destroy from inside and cut off the power to the droids, then we can increase our chances of capturing Tambor." He announced. Windu contemplated this for a moment. Obi-Wan glanced to Anakin as they shared a look.

"I need all three of us at the front lines, Anakin, pushing into the base will require this army to be at full strength. Commander Tano may accept this mission, but she'll need to find another partner to accompany her." Windu said in a crisp tone. Before Anakin had a chance to voice his opinion, Windu went on.

"She could enlist the help of her new clone commander. Consider it a test mission for both of them." Obi-Wan nervously glanced at Anakin. This time, before Skywalker could speak, blasts echoed from a distance. It didn't sound like what they had been previously hearing though. This sounded different.

"Commander Cody, what is it!" Obi-Wan shouted. Cody still had the range finder to his helmet.

"Vultures incoming!" He shouted.

"We need to press this attack! Shoot them down!" Windu suddenly turned away from them and began to bark orders to the clones. Anakin gave an angry sigh. He didn't trust Motormouth yet. What if something went wrong? What if one or both didn't come back? What if they blew up the base with them in it? He couldn't stop the flow of negative thoughts as they poured into his mind. Even so, he went to break the news to Ahsoka as cannon fire took aim to the vulture droids. Despite the tense situation, Anakin walked as if there was nothing afoul, silently gritting his teeth in irritation. _It'd be safer and better if she were with me! _He told himself. Above, a vulture droid's left side was obliterated by Republic AV-7's and it began to spiral out of control toward the ground. As it met the hard rocky ground, the fire and gas ignited a tremendous explosion of fire and metal behind Anakin, but he didn't turn to look or act as if he'd even noticed.

Some distracted shinies watched him as he approached. The Jedi was seemingly oblivious to the explosion behind him as he didn't even turn to look.

"Wow…" one murmured in admiration.

"Keep firing rookie!" a sergeant reprimanded. There were six vultures in total. Two worked in a nose dive fashion as their lasers targeted wherever the largest groups of clones were. Screams and plastic shattering filled the air. An acrid stench of blood and burn began to emit where the vultures had fired. Cannons worked their best to take out the most destructive of them. Another looped back around and prepared to take out the closest cannon. Both fired at the same time. The shots sailed right by one another through the air and simultaneously destroyed their targets, the cannon and vulture droid both exploding.

There were three vulture droids left, all erratically flying to avoid being hit or end up like the others. One vulture droid suddenly pitched to the right, in route back to the Separatist base.

"Bring it down!" someone shouted over the chaos. The cannons were repositioned to fire at that one vulture droid. Just then, the other two spun around and began to follow the third back to the base.

Obi-Wan and Mace Windu had observed the attack from afar. The attack had ended as quickly as it had began. The Jedi were in mid speech with Plo Koon and Yoda as it happened. Their transmission had ended along with the retreat of the vultures.

"I think those vulture droids were just sent here to spy on us." He said to Windu, who stood beside him.

"It seems like it. That's why we need to get this army going now!"

Anakin found Ahsoka when the chaos had lifted. She was standing with Rex and Cody at the med station. Chett was walking about with Kix evaulating his tended injury. The clone appeared to be moving around quite well. As Anakin approached, he was met with many pairs of eyes. Many of the clones had removed their helmets to allow the occasional breeze to dry the sweat from their faces. Ahsoka stepped forward to speak with him. There was a smudge of dirt across her left cheek.

"Master, are we going through with your plan?" She inquired, looking eager. Anakin's frown slowly melted the excited look on her face. "Let me guess, we have to stick to the front lines?"

"Sort of. Master Windu allowed _you _to execute my plan. But I have to stay with Obi-Wan and him to breach the main wall." He explained in little more than a mumble.

"It's all right. I can handle the mission myself." Ahsoka spoke confidently. Behind her, Rex, Jesse and Motormouth approached them.

"Actually, he suggested you take your new commander out for a spin." Anakin put in. Ahsoka gave an indifferent shrug and turned to Motormouth.

"How do you feel about a stealth mission?" She asked him.

"Ready if you are Commander Tano." He declared confidently. Ahsoka smiled and turned back to Anakin.

"I guess it's decided." She beamed. "When should we set out?" Instead of immediately responding, Skywalker led her to the holomap and pointed to the narrow canyon behind the base.

"You can enter from here. There is a wall, but it's not well guarded. I bet you could just leap over it and continue into the base from there. We'll be drawing most of their forces to the front so you shouldn't have to worry about running into too many droids." He explained to her, hoping to give the most information possible that he knew.

"Got it master. I'll try to alert you when were at the wall and when we're in the base." She said. Anakin nodded stiffly.

"Good luck then, and may the force be with you." He said. Ahsoka nodded as they turned away from one another. Rex and Jesse moved up to walk with Skywalker as he returned to Kenobi and Windu.

"Let's get a move on then." Ahsoka ordered to Motormouth. "That's canyon's a long and winding distance away."

"Yes sir!" Motormouth chimed. The two started for the easiest route to that canyon. As the two walked off, Rex glanced to Anakin and caught up in a few quick strides.

"Sir, I don't trust him yet with her." He confided. Skywalker gave him a look as they walked. Jesse piped up, suddenly appearing on his other side.

"Hardcase and I could've gone with her sir."

"It's too late now." Anakin said in an exasperated tone. "I can only hope everything goes off without a hitch." He whispered as the two walked side by side in the opposite direction of Ahsoka. High above, the sun burned hotter than ever as the horizon turned to a wavy mirage of colors. The spiraling tower of the Separatist base swayed in the distance, dancing in the heat of the planet.

….…

Ahsoka effortlessly leapt from rock to rock, occasionally pausing to listen to everything around her; when Motormouth wasn't talking of course.

"I got the feeling General Skywalker doesn't like me too much. Or does he always look mad?" The clone didn't even give her long enough periods to answer before he started a new sentence. "You know I never met a mad Jedi before General Skywalker. But I guess some emotions just can't be supressed. You know I prefer the heat over cold. At least heat makes you feel alive." It began to ride Ahsoka's nerves. At the same time, it mirrored her when she was younger, always asking questions and always that inquisitive nature. She couldn't hate that. Blasts echoed from a distance and drew her attention away from the clone's incessant talking. Ahsoka closed her eyes and listened. She could almost feel the vibrations of the AT-TEs as they stormed the main wall of the droid base.

"The battle has begun for them." She announced to her clone commander. "We need to hurry or else we'll fall behind!"

"Right behind you!" His legs carried him swiftly as he made his way around the winding valley path. Ahsoka kept above him, watching, listening, waiting. From above, she guided him through the twisted narrow road. Luckily, there were no enemies abroad. If there were droids along this way, they were awfully quiet and didn't attack. The young Togruta did not sense anything evil here. Just then, her eyes caught sight of part of the rear wall. She was too high up to shout down to the clone without causing a ruckus. She lifted her comlink up and spoke into it.

"I can see the rear wall from my position. Judging from the distance we have two more turns before we're there." She informed. There was a brief moment of static on the channel.

"Copy that sir." His voice came back. In the distance, tanks and heavy fire echoed through the labyrinth of chasms. _I just hope we can shut down the droids and stop Tambor in time. _Ahsoka thought.

The pair stopped when they were nearly forty feet from the rear wall. The trip here was suspiciously uneventful. It was too quiet, especially for the Separatists. They were crouched behind a formation of boulders to carefully select their next course of action.

"What now Commander?" Motormouth looked to her, awaiting orders. He bore the same phase II armor the clones had upgraded to. His visor was painted green with small grey lines. Ahsoka thought the new helmets looked particulary intimidating opposed to the previous ones.

"Well, I doubt there's a back door. So we'll just have to leap right over the wall." She said, getting to her feet. The clone's eyes dropped to the raised plateau before them. The flat rocks on the mesa looked different from the others. The rocks they had just crossed were very textured and broken in some places. Motormouth looked closer at the flat rock. There was sand on top of it, but for some reason it didn't look…real.

"Commander Tano, wait!" He lurched to his feet and yanked her arm back before she stepped on it. Ahsoka was about to inquiry his actions when he bent down to pick up a rock and tossed it onto the flat rock. The weight on top of the rock caused it to sink into the ground. Suddenly, opening from a small hole in the canyon was a turret. The second they had both seen it, it fired directly onto the sunken plate. Ahsoka fell back into her crouching position. The turret lingered for a moment.

"Thank you, commander; I don't know why I didn't see that." Ahsoka admitted bashfully. Her montrals turned a slight shade of red in the white spaces from embarrassment. Luckily she bet he didn't even know what it meant. The turret retracted into its slot and disappeared with a distant click.

"Even a Jedi can miss things." He said, getting to his feet. The clone scanned the wall and with the aid of his helmet, calculated the height of the wall. Ahsoka took a few steps to her right to be more center with the barricade.

"That wall is precisely thirty-four point seven feet high." He informed. "Now I suggest we use cables to quickly-" Ahsoka suddenly caught sight of a spherical camera emerging from the opposite side of where the turret had come from. Fearing detection, she lunged at Motormouth, taking him down with her behind the rocks to avoid being sighted. If they were seen back here, the mission very well could be compromised.

"Commander Tano, what are you-"

"Shhh! Stay quiet!" She hissed at him, wondering if it was able to absorb audio as well as visual. Motormouth propped himself up with his elbows as Ahsoka was perched over him, her head rather close to his. He lay quietly, obeying her orders. Cautiously, Ahsoka peered between a crack in the boulders they were behind. The camera was still focused on the location where the turret had fired. Perhaps whoever controlled the camera was apparently interested to see what the trap had revealed. They'd be disappointed then…or suspicious.

"I guess you shouldn't've thrown that rock. There's a camera scrutinizing the area." Ahsoka explained.

"Sorry sir." The clone apologized.

"At least it's not a recon droid." Ahsoka smirked. Motormouth, despite his proclivity for talking, decided to stay quiet. The Togruta had her hand gently cupped over the hilt of her lightsaber, in case droids were sent out. She hoped there wouldn't be. After a few moments, the camera finally receded.

"Good, the camera's gone. Now what were you saying about cables?" She still kept her eyes toward the gulch and the barrier.

"I said, the wall is precisely thirty four point seven feet high. I suggest we use cables to quickly ascend the barrier and from there we infiltrate the base." He repeated, but finished his sentence this time.

"I agree with you. Let's go."

"Let me up first sir."

"Sorry." She leapt to her feet and took hold of his hand to help him off the ground. The two began to make their way around the network of traps. Ahsoka hoped Anakin was getting somewhere with their frontal assault. The Separatists had been here far too long, and she was eager to see them lose their grip on Ryloth.

….….

Anakin clenched his teeth and deflected several shots from the super battle droids. _Windu's plan is going to get us killed! _He angrily thought. _At least I sent Ahsoka to the rear of the base. Maybe then she can shut the power off to these blasted droids! _He charged forward on a destroyer droid as it came rolling down at him. Luckily his timing was impeccable, and he sliced the machine in half before it had the chance to unfold and activate its shield. He took several running steps back to Captain Rex to protect him. He was taking heavy fire from his position behind some large rocks. The four clones surrounding him had been shot all in under a minute. The entire squad they had brought with them had been slaughtered in under ten minutes. _Hurry up Ahsoka! _He gritted his teeth, growing nervous and angry. He moved closer to Rex and deflected any shot that ventured too close. He refused to lose his clone captain here and now, now or ever.

"Rex, throw a grenade at those droids!" He shouted over the war sounds. Anakin gestured to a clump of droids walking together. With them so close to one another it would be simple to take them all out with an explosion.

"Right!" Rex shouted back. He ducked down and searched the pack next to him. As soon as he had his hand around a grenade he leaned back up and threw it directly at the group. The grenade smacked one droid in the head and exploded instantly upon impact, dismembering every droid and killing all but one. The last droid fell to the ground, incapacitated without use of his arms, which had been blown off. Anakin didn't smile at it. He was far too distracted by the innumerable horde of battle droids coming their way. There seemed to be an endless sea of metal charging at them. Anakin fell back and ducked down behind the rocks with Rex.

"Rex, try to contact Ahsoka! I'll cover you as we move back with Obi-Wan's squad!" He ordered. Rex nodded and lifted his comlink the same time the two of them stood and began sprinting across the desert. Anakin clung to Rex like glue, viciously deflecting each and every laser bolt. With twenty super battle droids meters away, both of them were at risk of being hit.

"Ahsoka, this is Rex. Things are bad with us. What about your end?" Rex said quickly into his comlink. Ahsoka's voice responded almost immediately.

"Rex! That was close…" She went quiet. "We're beyond the rear wall and we've infiltrated the base. The only problem is finding the droid's power source." Anakin and Rex ducked down behind a huge discarded metal crate for temporary cover.

"Where are you?" Anakin shouted into Rex's comlink.

"We're in the base." Ahsoka repeated.

"We're trying to locate the droid's central power source and shut it down." Motormouth's voice came in clearly over the channel.

"We haven't been detected yet, and we don't want to be. So we'll have to cut you off all right master?" Ahsoka's voice returned. Anakin felt a sting through his chest. What if something happened and they couldn't contact one another. But it'd be worse if they were discovered through the comlink signal behind enemy lines.

"That's fine, just…complete your mission and we'll see you on the other side." He said to her.

"Yes master." Were her last words. Rex looked to Anakin.

"Think they'll shut down those droids in time sir?" The amount of droids sent to retaliate was staggering. If they didn't hurry, the Republic forces would be overwhelmed, and possibly defeated.

"They've made it that far; they can go all the way!" He said before jumping to his feet. "C'mon! We have to get back to Obi-Wan." Rex jumped to his feet and drew his pistols. As they ran across the desert again, Rex fired excellent shots into the weaker droids as Anakin protected them, occasionally sending out a destructive force push to any that were close enough.

Over the ridge, Obi-Wan and Mace Windu had a worse time defending themselves against the swelling masses of droids. Dwarf spider droids had been deployed to eliminate their heavier guns. Laser fire colored the surface of the planet in a blue and red sea. It was obvious that Tambor had expelled his remaining forces to eliminate the Jedi nuisance.

"Whose idea was this again?" Obi-Wan shouted to no one in particular. Windu defended himself with his saber and glanced to Obi-Wan. Quickly he sprinted back to the remaining cannons. The clones manning the cannons were focused on annihilating the larger pockets of droids. The AV-7's took out many of the surrounding droids in one well placed shot. Windu leapt onto the small platform to give orders to the lead clone.

"Focus fire on the heavier droids, Master Kenobi and I will take care of the others." He ordered the clone sergeant sitting there.

"Right away sir!" He complied. "Cannons one through eight, focus fire on the destroyer droids and don't fire near the generals!" He was met with many 'yes sirs'. Swinging the large turret to the left, he pressed the launch button. The entire cannon backfired as it shot a blast right into a trio of rolling droidekas. Scraps of metal flew in every direction, hitting some of the battle droids around them.

Obi-Wan and Windu charged across the battlefield, redirecting many of the droids' fire to them. Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber expertly about, slashing many of the thinner droids in half. Windu used his saber for defense mostly, and with the force, he shoved away the enemy with brutal pushes. The droid parts broke apart with electrical snaps and bolts of quick sparks through the air. Windu leapt onto the top of a super battle droid and plunged his lightsaber straight down into its system. In a malfunctioning fit, the B2 series droid began to missfire unintentionally on its own troops. Obi-Wan continued to use spinning attacks to cut through the sea of metal. _Oh, Anakin wherever you are hurry up! _He thought with a small dash of worry. He kept himself calm, but this attack was beginning to concern him. Ahsoka had to make it in the base and shutdown the power to the droids, Anakin had to make it back and assist them, and they had to defend the front lines. Obi-Wan slid under a super droid and sprung up on the other side, stabbing through its mainframe.

The clones back over the ridge fired down with their DC blasters. They couldn't allow the droids to breach the front lines. If they did, the entire army would be broken up and most likely suffer defeat. Chett, the rookie clone injured earlier was already back on his feet. He crouched on the bank blasting whatever droid got too close. Commander Cody was a few clones down from him, shooting down every droid possible. Just then, emerging from the masses of metal, were commando droids. The elite droids were armed with the standard E-5's, shooting down clones much faster than the more common infantry.

"Blasted commandos…" Cody whispered. He looked to the troops around him. "Focus fire on those commandos!" At the sound of his urgent order, the clones began to redirect their fire to the charging elites. One went down, not easily, as the rest began to actively avoid their fire. Some of the clones slowly began to back away in tension, nervous that they'd be cut down where they knelt.

"Hold your ground!" Cody shouted over the fear of the feral battleground. In a matter of seconds, the commando droids had breach the front line and mercilessly shot down several of his troopers. Many of the soldiers dying screams echoed in his helmet, chilling him to the bone. Nonetheless, he stood fearless, blasting off rounds into the enemy droids painted faces. The closest commando suddenly cartwheeled to Cody and kicked the blaster clean from his grip. Its metal foot shoved right into Cody's gut, sending him onto his back on the desert ground. Kenobi's clone watched in anger and panic as it lifted its gun to fire into his heart. In a split second, a flash of glowing blue shredded the droid where it stood. Cody gasped and struggled to get up. He looked around to discover his savior, thinking it was Kenobi. He was wrong, but not far off. Anakin Skywalker and Rex were sprinting toward him as Anakin's lightsaber flew back to him with aid of the force.

"Cody! Where's Obi-Wan?" He yelled. Cody gathered himself and his blaster. The pair stopped in front of him for a moment.

"Generals Kenobi and Windu charged into the center of the fight to distract the heaviest fire from our front lines." He barely got out the words before Anakin charged off, lightsaber ingited and that fierce look in his eye. Rex stayed behind with Cody as they began shooting at a few B1 droids that had caught their attention.

Obi-Wan and Windu were given no break as they exhausted their efforts trying to avoid being hit while attempting to lessen the droid numbers.

"I hope Ahsoka shuts those droids down in time or they'll be nothing left of us!" Windu shouted to Kenobi, despite the man being right behind him.

"Me too." Was all Obi-Wan could breathe at the moment. Then, like lightning, Anakin Skywalker burst from nowhere, savagely cutting down droids left and right, right and left and all around him.

"Anakin!" Windu exclaimed. He didn't have time to go on since he was interrupted by a destroyer droid. "Blast." He muttered. Yanking his arms back he thrust them back forward, sending a monumentus wave of energy toward the line of droids. In seconds, twenty feet worth of droids had been obliterated.

"You were saying?" Anakin ridiculed softly. Fortunately he did not hear. Obi-Wan leapt back next to Anakin to speak with him.

"Did you send Ahsoka in the right direction? What's taking her so long?" He said wearily.

"She'll get the job done, master." He shouted, trying to hold back his anger. _She'll get the job done…_


	4. Resurgence

"I don't mean to rush you, but please hurry up." Ahsoka whispered to Motormouth, who had been fiddling with the power cords for nearly ten minutes. They had gained entry to the enemy base easily enough. They guessed that this would be the tricky part then, no droids had stopped them yet. It was unnerving to the both of them. There was no way the Separatists were that ignorant of their presence within the fortress. The power room was dark and cold, with dull metallic colors and odd switches and gauges. It was odd to have the control station for the droids' power outside of the command center, but the Jedi didn't question it too intensely. She was just grateful they made it this far without hindering complications.

"Well what would you do?" He asked, pulling himself away from the panel. The female gave a small shrug.

"On Geonosis, Barriss and I blew up the Separatist's weapons factory. Of course, we ended up trapped in a tank under meters of rubble…" She trailed off, realizing perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to repeat.

"Yeah trapped under meters of rubble doesn't sound like a pleasant place to bond Commander Tano." He bantered softly. She smirked in amusement, then suddenly something

"I've got an idea." Leaving him to ponder this, she began to dig inside the GAR backpacks they brought with them.

"Commander, what are you-" he then understood what she intended. In her hands, she held time release charges. Detonators that would explode when the origin charger was activated. It meant they could put multiple charges in the base, find Tambor, force him to surrender, and leave the base before blowing it sky high.

"You're a genius." He finished as she smiled at him. She placed the two she had in his hands and reached for more.

"Get going, and put them in locations not easily seen." She ordered.

"Yes sir." He said as he rose up from his crouch on the ground. Ahsoka did the same as they began to set them in distant areas. Motormouth slid one under the main control panel and activated the ready signal. Sounds from outside the base and within the base could be very distantly heard. Ahsoka could hear the heavy fire from guns, tanks, cannons…Just then her right side tingled oddly. The moment she looked to her right, a door slid open and in piled three commando droids ready for a fight.

"There they are! Blast them!" The one at point ordered.

"Motormouth get down!" Ahsoka snapped as she ignited her sabers to defend them from the impending blaster fire. Fortunately, the clone commander was behind several canisters and the droids couldn't see him, or knew where he was from the start. Pulling his twin pistols from their holster, he quietly peered from behind the metallic tube. Two were engaged with the commander in a death battle, whereas the third began to search for the alleged second member of this invasion party. _Blast. But at least I can direct his fire away from the commander. _He thought. Rolling down low, he held his arms out in front of him. The canisters had metal legs underneath raised up from the ground. From below, Motormouth spied the third commando's skinny legs walking around the left side. _Gotcha…_The clone thought. Firing at the connected knee joint, he managed to incapacitate the droid's leg. Immediately firing a second shot when he saw the droid's head crashing down to the ground.

"Perfect!" he blurted to himself.

Ahsoka swung her sabers about as she ventured closer to the enemy, hoping to sneak in a slash attack. Suddenly the second commando droid leapt toward the wall, and back flipped high into the air and landed behind Ahsoka, forcing her to stand sideways to deflect their fire. Giving a small irritated huff, she sailed into the air and threw both her lightsabers, an attack most commonly performed by her master despite the danger of throwing away both weapons, at the commandos below. In that moment, neither droid expected the sudden and clever assault and both were dismantled by the burning blade.

"Commander? Where'd you go?" Ahsoka called out, disengaging her sabers and clipping them back onto her belt. Boots tapping on the metal ground alerted her to a presence to her left. Motormouth slowly emerged with both pistols drawn, pointed upwards.

"That wasn't too difficult. But I suggest we vacate the area before they send more." He suggested, keeping his blasters out in case of more unwanted guests.

"Right. Let's go find Tambor. I'll keep the detonator handy in case we run out of options." She informed as they began to exit through the door the commandos came from. The pair ran through the steel corridors at a light run.

"If I'm not mistaken, Tambor should be in the control room." Motormouth said.

"Or in the hangars getting ready to flee like the coward he is." Ahsoka added.

"Do you suggest we split up to either of those locations then?"

"No, definitely not. We'll go to the control room first. If we split up it could reduce our chances of both of us getting out alive."

"What if he's not in the control room?"

"We'll go the hangar, granted we still have the availability to do that."

"Yes sir." Motormouth slowed to a halt to press a keypad next to a large door. Seemingly, the base did not lock down for intruders. Perhaps they were waiting to hear back from the commandos sent to investigate. _They'll never hear back from them either. _Ahsoka smirked.

"Here we are Commander. This is the door to the control room." Motormouth announced as they slowed down to the last door. Oddly enough, they had encountered only seven more droids in their journey here. The encountered droids were merely confused B1s.

"Let's finish this." Ahsoka said in finality. With the force, she opened the door. The door cascaded open and the pair approached with their weapons drawn. The control room was empty, except they could tell someone was sitting in a tall chair behind a three sixty panel.

"Surrender peacefully Wat Tambor and may the Republic have mercy on you." Ahsoka said fiercely. Again with the force, she waved her hand to swing the chair to face them.

"What the-Jedi?" Neither the voice nor the appearance was what they expected. Sitting in the chair was a B1 battle droid in yellow markings; most likely a sergeant. A moment of confusion between the two passed before Ahsoka pounced and held her lightsaber at the droid's metal neck, visibly distraught and frustrated by this false trail.

"Where's Tambor?" She growled, giving her most intimidating sneer possible. It worked, for the droid had backed up far into the chair and lifted its arms in fear.

"H-he fled the control room! He was going to Hangar 3-A!" It said sputtered in terror. Ahsoka sighed and reluctantly pulled away.

"Just what I feared." She muttered to herself. The droid gave a relieved gesture, believing that perhaps these two would spare his parts. Just as he did, Motormouth took aim with his pistol and delivered a one shot kill to the head. The headless droid slumped stiffly over the metal arm of the chair.

"Let's make a sprint for the hangars. Maybe he's still obtainable!" She ordered.

"We better hurry. The battle outside looks to be getting out of hand." Ahsoka shivered and looked to the clone. His head was in the direction of the large window offering a near panoramic view to the devastation afar. The padawan stepped up to the window and looked out. The swelling masses of droids were completing overwhelming the poor clones. Two out of four AT-TEs were already destroyed. The third was being severed by the lasers of a massive spider droid.

"Let's go then." She said with a shudder. _No time to waste. My master needs me to complete my mission._

The hangars must have been were the party had moved to. Several super battle droids were stationed at the doors.

"Commander…" Motormouth began warily as they charged toward the supers.

"Already on it." With a might force push, for more powerful than she expected, the droids flew back into the door, and took the large metal panels out of their place and skidded across the hangar floor.

"Whoa, Commander…"

"I'm sorry. I overdid it." Ahsoka mumbled a quick apology. Her anxiety was beginning to gently pierce her composure. The duo sprinted into the hangars where at that moment, a ship was soaring out into the sky. A separatist transport. Ahsoka closed her eyes, sensing their missing target had boarded that ship for a retreat.

"Blast…" She whispered. There were no droids in the hangars themselves, only guaring outside, which Ahsoka had brutally destroyed. There were no other ships present in the hangar. Either this one was made private, or everyone else had seen their impending doom and fled earlier.

"Commander, I suggest we retreat as soon as possible so that we may destroy the base to help the troops." Motormouth suggested moving to stand near her disappointed sulking form. "We can't do anything more."

"You're right." She pulled out the detonator. Without letting another second passed, her thumb pressed the button in and from below and far, but still close enough to harm them, a resounding boom echoed.

…

Anakin was beginning to lose his temper, with everything around him. The droids around him suffered intense damage from either force or burning blade. He was far enough from either of his abettors to use a darker tinge to his attacks. He feared losing the battle, losing his men, his padawan and master. Just then, above his head he saw a Separatist shuttle leaving the base and retreating far into the skies of Ryloth.

"Tambor…" He gave a guttural snarl; even more enraged they had lost. Suddenly a boom louder than anything they had heard echoed throughout the battlefield. In a dash of hope he glanced to the base again. Smoke and fire rose up and increased from the rear part. Coinciding with the explosion, the droids around him suddenly crippled to the ground and shut down, several even just fell over. A second explosion rocked the earth as the Separatist base began to crumble on the left side. The massive slabs of stone fell in slow motion as they toppled to the ground. A cloud of dust formed from the impact area. A flickering thought entered Anakin's mind. _I hope Ahsoka got out of the base all right…_Immediately, he lifted his comlink to his mouth to contact her.

"Ahsoka it's Anakin, did you escape the base before you blew it up?" He asked nervously into the tiny device. There was static on the other end and silence. His heart did a small clench in time with his stomach.

"Ahsoka! Did you escape the base?" He almost shouted. There was a small click sound.

"Master!" Ahsoka's voice came and went.

"Ahsoka!"

"Master, we escaped from the hangars. We should be in view of you in minutes." She said breathily, as if she were sprinting back. Skywalker sighed with relief. They had made it unscathed he assumed. He looked around him at the fallen droids, clones, and the battle as a whole. He did a mental evaluation of the fight.

Obi-Wan approached him within the minute.

"Is Ahsoka coming?" He inquired, looking a little beat up.

"Yes, we should be able to see her in a bit." Anakin turned toward the late location of the base and watched eagerly for her form to appear.

"Windu is pulling our forces back to the _Resolute. _His fleet will remain for a few days to ensure the Separatist presence is truly eliminated from Ryloth. And to provide relief efforts for the Twi-leks."

"So he's going to finish the job for us?"

"Yes. And good thing too. We've been here on Ryloth for weeks." Obi-Wan crossed his arms and waited with his apprentice for Ahsoka. Anakin was actually glad to get out of the heat of battle and back to Coruscant. For a brief second, his mind pictured Padme waiting on the city planet. He kept that thought brief enough so that Obi-Wan couldn't sense it.

Many of the clones with fatal injuries during the final wave writhed on the battlefield amidst droid and brother alike. Kix and his team of medics frantically scoured the area for those able to cling to life a little longer. Anakin watched from the corner of his eye. Ahsoka wouldn't like returning to a scene such as this. Kix and another medic Helio were bent over a clone with two blaster shots to his abdomen. Obi-Wan flinched beside Anakin as the down clone emitted a chilling cry when Kix tried to move him. Obi-Wan put a hand on Anakin's arm.

"Wait for Ahsoka, I'm going to help Kix and Helio." He said as he began to walk off. Skywalker merely nodded and refocused back on the location Ahsoka would most likely be emerging from.

After seeing the immense number of wounded clones, Windu ceased his lead on boarding the 501st and 212th back onto the _Resolute_ and began to assist anyone he could that was in dire need of medical attention. Obi-Wan guided a stretcher to the clone Kix was trying to help. Helio had skirted sideways to aid a clone several feet away with his foot facing the wrong direction. In fact, many of the standing troopers from either of the three legions took it upon themselves to help their fallen brothers. It was both an honorable and painful sight. Anakin gave a troubled sigh and closed his eyes. So many deaths this day, even if it had proved victorious. He knew Rex would be moody later due to losing so many of his brothers. After missions such as this one he often keep to himself for a bit if his presence wasn't required. It hurt him. This was almost as bad as Teth; so many lost lives. Anakin felt something coming in his direction a distance off. His head snapped that way and looked on. Emerging from the wavy horizon were two figures. One easily identified as a clone trooper, the other smaller and slimmer. Ahsoka had returned.


	5. Closer Bonds

_Resolute_

_ 1700 hours_

The _Resolute _was nearly silent after the departure of Ryloth. No clone nor Jedi spoke as they boarded the flagship. After the numbers were in, the 212th had suffered the most casualties. Many of the wounded clones were 212th legion as well, and eventually died due to fatal wounds. The trek back on board the _Resolute _was a quiet one for Cody's legion. Ahsoka had kept silent, trying to urge Motormouth to do the same, even though both were excited that they had worked so well together during their mission. Despite Wat Tambor fleeing the planet, Anakin remained proud of his padawan that she had so successfully infiltrated the base and destroyed it. When Ahsoka and her clone were face to face with Skywalker, he saw that both were covered head to toe in dust and debris from the crippling base. The smudge of dirt on Ahsoka's cheek from earlier had attracted specks of sand to it.

Ahsoka walked down the steel corridors of the _Resolute_, calmed by the sound of the twin engines humming continuously. The hallway was well lit with the overhead panels. She reeked of sweat and heat and oil and her light feet carried her to her quarters where she planned to take a long break in the fresher and perhaps a nap.

Once safe inside her quarters, Ahsoka stripped herself of the moist battle gear. She'd have to pull out another one later. For now she just wanted the sticky residue of sweat and war off her. With the force, she quickly locked the door to her quarters so no one would barge in uninvited. Being a female aboard the ship had certain perks. One for instance, Ahsoka was granted her own fresher inside her quarters for convenience. The last piece of clothing dropped to the floor as she grabbed a towel from the drawer and jumped into the sanisteam. The feel of hot water running off her body and cleansing her instantly soothed her frayed nerves. Ahsoka had waited at the bridge with Anakin until the busiest hours had ended. Through her trek back to her quarters she encountered no one. Sometimes she preferred it that way. The exhausted, wounded, and despondent men aboard the _Resolute _had called it a day and turned in for the long journey back to Coruscant. The Togruta closed her eyes and ran her hands down her montrals to clean the dirt off them. _I'm glad I didn't lose my clone commander the first day. I heard from one of the Jedi masters that they had lost their assigned clone in less than twenty hours of a mission. _Ahsoka pursed her lips, trying to recall the cause of death. _Oh yeah, he lost his life to a giant sheet of metal that collapsed on him. _Her fingernails scrubbed away sand on her arms. _That Jedi should've saved him. All it would've taken was a force push or pull. Careless loss. _She simmered. At least Ahsoka had the humanity to save her own from certain harm. _Like Windu and Ponds…He didn't seem to care about losing him. I know Anakin would lose it if he lost Rex. _Ahsoka quivered from her own morbid thoughts. These thoughts must have been the lingering remains from the catastrophic battle. It was time to breathe fresh and put it past her.

After the young padawan had cleaned herself and dressed into a new battle gear, she could not help but plummet to the bed and lose herself to a deep well-deserved sleep.

_Ahsoka's body suddenly felt as if it had been thrown onto the hostile, blistering cold of Hoth. In the next instant, it dulled down to a moderate chill. She couldn't move, nor open her eyes. Even so, she was aware that her body was lying on its side with her limbs tucked in and her back bent forward. The ground beneath her felt rough, cold, and rock like. Finally, she was granted the ability to open her eyes. When she did, she did not see the safe walls of her quarters on board the Resolute, neither did she see the generic furniture the room held._ What's going on? _She thought. With each breath she drew, fog danced upon the air for a second. Gradually, the feeling returned to her arms, then to her torso. The Togruta unraveled herself from the fetal position. The room became clearer to her as she looked about. The floors and walls were made of a rough, dull concrete. In front of her was a large open gap. Across from her position was a room of similar design. Between the rooms was a corridor. Ahsoka pulled herself up with her arms and dragged herself to the edge. Her left leg twitched in response and the feeling returned to both in mere minutes. Looking down either corridor she spied two completely different doors. The one to the right was barricaded with a steel portal with a ray shield in front of it. The other, was a tall but narrow iron door with many broken bolts and rust coating the surface. _

_ With one final struggle, Ahsoka managed to haul herself up onto her feet. Obviously she could not advance through the ray shielded door. That left her with one option. The narrow broken door. The padawan slowly approached it, her body up against the left wall, uncertain and inexplicably terrified. As she drew closer to that odd door, the air began to feel oppressive and ringing sound pierced through her head. With the force, she gently pushed the door open a little more, enough so that she could peek in without putting herself into danger. The crooked door creaked and obeyed her power. Ahsoka leaned close, keeping her distance, and heard the buzzing of flies. In that instant an awful smell punched her nose and she nearly retched as she plugged it tightly with her fingers. Taking another step, she could see many black shapes lying on the ground. Bags…they were bags. Big black bags that seemed to contain something too big for them. Suddenly one of the bags split open. Falling out of the slit was a human arm, stained, mutilated with red and purple swells. Ahsoka let out a deafening scream and violently jerked, forcing herself out of the dream like state. _

Ahsoka gasped for breath and wrenched back against the wall, shaking and looking about in panic. The room around her was normal again. The dim light above her was on and all the dull and generic furniture filled the space. _A dream! It was just a dream…_She reassured herself. But why on earth would her dreams plague her with something so abhorrent?

"Commander Tano?!" a voice from outside her door made her flinch. Whoever it was knocked rapidly on the steel soon after speaking.

"Commander Tano are you okay?" she recognized the voice as a clone's. Leaping to her feet, desperate for another living being's presence, she punched the pad beside the locked door to let them in. Behind the door was Motormouth. Ahsoka knew his green markings along his body armor. However, he had his helmet removed. He looked like all the other clones. He bore the standard cropped haircut, but down along his jaw and chin was a neatly trimmed line of black hair.

"Commander are you all right? I was passing by and heard you scream." Motormouth asked, the concern moderately evident. Ahsoka still felt her heart racing from behind her ribs.

"Yes, I-I'm fine…" she suppressed the urge to shiver. Motormouth's eyebrow slowly went up in question.

"You sounded like something had really scared you, or had attacked you." He continued. Ahsoka shook her head.

"No, trust me, it was just a bad dream." Looking past the clone's shoulder, she noticed that all the major lights in the corridor had been shut off. All that remained were the emergency lights that bathed the hall in a low white light.

"Well dream or not, I wanted to make sure you were all right." The clone said. Ahsoka smiled very weakly and nodded.

"Thanks." Her stomach growled in hunger. She hadn't eaten since Ryloth or maybe before, she could not remember. Motormouth seemed to have heard her stomach complaining.

"I was on my way to the mess. The bridge was still quite busy even after lights out and I didn't get the chance to eat. Would you like to go with me now?" He offered. Delighted to stay close to another living, breathing being, Ahsoka accepted.

"Yes, that sounds nice." She stepped out of her quarters and shut them behind her. The two fell into step together down the dim corridor. Ahsoka then realized she had left her lightsaber on the end table next to her bed. _Oh come on…what are the chances I'll need it? _She thought.

….

Much to her relief, or perhaps increasing her anxiety, the mess was completely deserted. Motormouth had to flick on the lights to the area or else they'd trip over tables and benches in the darkness. Ahsoka shot a sideways glance at her clone commander. Despite that he would be there with her during many missions, and it was important that they bonded and developed a good relationship, she couldn't help but feel that he was a stranger beside her. She really knew nothing about him. The clone left her at the door to see if the meals were still lined up behind the glass pane. Several hours ago, she had felt as if they'd known one another forever. Now, here with no battles, no droids and no trouble, she felt disconnected.

"Ah here we go." His voice was loud in the dead silence of the mess. He took two meals in his hands, one for her and one for him. Ahsoka chose a spot toward the door they'd just entered. The two sat across from one another and began to eat in a rather awkward silence. Ahsoka gently pushed around some white rice on her plate before picking up a forkful to bring to her mouth. Finally, Motormouth broke the silence.

"So you are…Kenobi's padawan?" he asked slowly, unsure of himself.

"Skywalker's actually." Ahsoka gave a small friendly smile to indicate that he had permission to speak freely.

"I see. And Captain Rex is Skywalker's clone captain, correct?" he sounded more sure with this one.

"Yes."

"I've heard a lot about the two of them. Skywalker is a great leader, and a powerful Jedi. And I've heard of the very decorated Rex in my time on Kamino."

"He's popular there?" Ahsoka hesitated with another bite of rice.

"Quite. Many of the younger clones in training idolize him. Though can't say I blame them." Motormouth took another stab at a piece of meat on his plate. Ahsoka watched as he ate rather delicately, much unlike some of the other clones she had sat with in the past. Perhaps he ate carefully to show her some degree of respect, or that he wasn't just going to devour his food like starving Gundark. Not wanting to talk about Rex the whole time, Ahsoka quickly shifted the subject.

"So I heard you are a squad leader from Master Windu. Where is your squad?" Eventually she grew comfortable enough to keep looking at him.

"General Windu informed me that you would have command over the squad once you have proven yourself to the Jedi Council. And my squad is stationed on Kamino until further notice." He laid his fork down and focused more on the caf beside him.

"What's your squad like? I haven't heard anything about them." Motormouth gave a short laugh.

"Terminator squad is what they called us." Ahsoka felt a small tinge of color in her montrals. The name certainly didn't make her feel like she could handle a squad called 'Terminator squad'.

"Why that name?" She quickly asked before he could speak.

"My squad was the first and only squad to defeat the Citadel simulation in the Kamino training arena on our first try." The pride in his tone was very evident as Ahsoka pushed away her plate and decided to stick with the water.

"My squad mates are a rowdy bunch." He continued. "There's Ross, my second in command. Hammerhead, Razortooth, Brain, Greasetrap our mechanic and our surly sniper, Exitwound." He went on, casually listing the names of what Ahsoka could've believed were criminals of the Underworld.

"Oh," she lost her voice, "that sounds…great…" She felt a fluttering sense of diminishing authority. How could she be expected to lead a squad like that? Motormouth sighed, easily picking up on her lack of confidence.

"Don't be scared away by their names, commander. They will listen to you, when you gain their trust and respect." Despite the attempt to make her feel better it only made her feel worse; mostly the last part. She took a long drink of water even though her thirst had long since been quenched.

"Sounds more like a squad for Anakin." She mumbled. Motormouth gave a light smirk. The doors to the mess hall opened in a loud whoosh sound. Both of them turned to look, wondering who on earth would come to the mess at this hour. Walking in was Jester, Punch and Sketch, from the traitor Slick's platoon. Ahsoka's brow sunk, then she remembered. The clones in his squad were quarantined to ensure that they had no alliance to the Separatists nor information about Slick's betrayal prior to his capture. Each one was picked off and interrogated for a month before either passed back to the _Resolute _where they'd be assigned a new squad leader, or sent to military prison for further interrogation. These three had apparently passed. Chopper and Gus were under heavier surveillance since Gus was second in command, and Chopper a rather odd clone all himself.

"Evening commanders." Sketch spoke. He and Punch marched to the window pane for a meal. Jester faltered a bit before falling back in line.

"Evening troopers," Motormouth answered before Ahsoka could get out a word, "little late for a midnight snack?" he eyed them curiously.

"Sorry sir. We arrived late from our transport. We've been stationed on board the _Resolute _until we are assigned a new squad leader." Punch answered this one. Rather than sitting at a separate table, the three came to sit with them. Jester sat with Ahsoka, while Punch and Sketch sat beside one another to the right of Motormouth.

"I see." Ahsoka felt the steely tone in her clone commander's voice. It seemed even he knew of the traitorous dealings with Slick.

"What about Gus and Chopper?" Ahsoka inquired, looking to Sketch. The clone took a large bite of a ration bar. The Togruta's eyes flicked to Punch for an answer, who just swallowed a bite.

"We know Gus is under interrogation, but he is expected to return soon."

"He's a good soldier. He has his head in the right place." Jester chimed in.

"Chopper," Sketch said after he finished the chunk of ration bar, "they have him under careful scrutiny. I guess they didn't like his little necklace of droid fingers very much. They feel he might be ticking time bomb." Ahsoka bit the inside of her lip. Motormouth had his mouth covered from the position of his hands. His eyes carefully surveying each of them. For a clone called Motormouth, he sure didn't do too much talking. The both of them had finished their meals and sat with the other clones in a silence. Ahsoka's eyes looked at Motormouth's. His were looking at the wall over Jester's shoulder. Sketch and Punch began to speak quietly to one another in Mando'a. Very subtly, Ahsoka moved her right leg up to find her clone commander's. Gingerly, she made contact with his shin and nudged him, looking at his eyes for the reaction. His eyes went slowly to look into hers and he remained statue still, exactly what Ahsoka hoped for. Her eyes made a dart motion toward the door, indicating they should depart. Motormouth gave the smallest of nods and then got to his feet.

"Well it's been an interesting evening, troopers, but I think I will call it a day." He grabbed his tray and freed himself from the bench. Ahsoka got to her feet as well and began to make for the door.

"I need to get some rest if I'm going to the Jedi Temple tomorrow anyway." She said. Sketch, Jester and Punch watched them as they discarded their trays and left through the main door. The three exchanged looks and ate the rest of their meal in silence.

Once outside the mess, Motormouth gazed curiously at Ahsoka.

"Why did you have us leave?" he inquired. She shook her head.

"You know that those clones were part of Sergeant Slick's platoon?"

"The clone that sold Republic information to Asajj Ventress? Yes, commander I am aware. But please tell me you are not suspicious of them committing treason." He gave her a brief accusing glare.

"No! I do not believe they are treasonous solely because they were under Slick's command. I just…you never know. After all they were put into heavy interrogations and quarantine to ascertain that they had no knowledge of Slick's actions. Those three passed but clones like Chopper. Clones that are so deviant from the norm are handled differently." Ahsoka bit her lip to keep herself from going on. The last thing she wanted was to offend her commander, or come off as hateful towards clones. Her body quivered with tension as she looked at him. Motormouth kept silent and looked ahead. His eyes avoiding hers.

"I've offended you…" she stated sadly. His eyes flicked her way for the first time.

"No, commander. I am not offended. I understand your fear of inner corruption. But a severely deviated clone is extremely rare. You have nothing to fear." He offered her a smile, making her feel much better.

To prevent any more awkward mishaps or misguided statements, Ahsoka kept her mouth shut and let her commander speak. She enjoyed listening to him talk. The commander spoke highly of his squad mates, his trainer; he also spoke of past missions and the experiences he had gained. They reached Ahsoka's quarters first.

"Do you sleep in the barracks with your men?" she asked.

"No, higher ranking clones are granted a very small, but private room just to sleep and dress. I'm down the hall from Captain Rex if you need me." He turned from her and began to walk away. "See you soon commander." Ahsoka watched him leave until he disappeared from sight, then went into her quarters again. The room was small and dim, and very, very quiet. It unnerved her, the quiet. Slowly she went to lie down on the bed again, hoping to get some rest. The eerie dream from earlier came flooding into her mind. She rolled to lay on her side, facing the openness of the room. _It was just a dream. When will ever come across a place so evil as that? _She talked herself out of her fear. Eventually, a dreamless sleep claimed her.


End file.
